Method of making shoes



' Feb. 25, 1936 J. B. HADAWAY 3 METHOD OF MAKING SHOES Filed April 5,1953 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 v5/\/ 70/? 32a ab,

Feb. 25, 1936. J. B. HAbAwAY 2,031,645

METHOD OF MAKING SHOES v FiledApril s, 1933 y ZSheets-Sheet 2' vY/NI/E/IVTUF Patented Feb. 25, 1936 PATENT OFFICE ,METHOD OF MAKINGSHOES John B. Hadaway, Swampscott,-Mass., assignor to United ShoeMachinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New JerseyApplication April 3, 1933, Serial N0. 664,146

' In Great Britain April 6, 1932 38 Claims.

This invention relates to improved methods of shoemaking and toimprovements in shoes and outsoles for shoes and is herein illustratedwith reference to a. method of producing so-called close shanks inshoes. While the invention is illustrated herein in its application towelt shoes, it is to be understood that in certain aspects it may beapplicable also to the manufacture of other types of shoes.

In Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,920,383, granted Aug. 1,1933, upon my application, I have disclosed a novel method of securingand permanently maintaining a close fitting shank in a shoe by producingan abnormal bulge in the shank portion of the sole which, after a soleleveling operation is performed, is depressed or flattened out to expandthe sole edgewise and thus permit the margins of the sole at the shankto be pressed into close fitting relation to the shoe upper. Byexpanding the sole in the manner described the margins of the sole maybe pressed closely against the shoe bottom without setting up anystrains in the intramarginal portions of the sole which would tendsubsequently to pull the sole margins away from close fitting relationto the upper. As illustrated in the patent referred to, the bulge in theshank portion of the sole is caused by a non-resilient member in theform of a shank piece which is placed upon the insole of a lasted shoeprior to the attachment of the outsole. The outsole is then placed'onthe shoe bottom and pressure isapplied to lay the sole, this pressure.being suflicient to cause the bulge to appear at the shank portion ofthe sole but being insufiicient to collapse the shank piece and flattenout the bulge. After the sole has been permanently secured to the shoebottom (the shoe illustrated in the patent referred to being a welt shoeand having the outsole attached to a welt by a row of stitching), thesole is leveled in the usual manner by a leveling roll which presses thesole forcibly against the shoe bottom and forces the margins of the soleinto close.

fitting relation to the shoe upper. The pressure applied b'y-theleveling roll causes the shank piece to collapse so that the bulge isflattened out and the sole is expanded. or widened widthwise of theshoebottom, thereby relieving'any tensions, in the sole that may tendsubsequently to pull the sole margins away" from close fitting relationtothe upper.

This widening of the sole by flattening out the bulge in theshankportion also results in stitches which, as pointed out in the patentreferred to, usually extend diagonally through the outsole at anacuteangle to the outer face of the sole margin in the shank portion of awelt shoe and tend to create a tension between 5 the outsole and weltwhich resists any attempt to close up the welt crease. After the bulgehas been depressed, however, and the sole widened, the stitches assumepositions which are more nearly at right angles to the outer sur- 10face of the sole, thereby relieving any tension which may have beenexerted by the stitches tending to pull the sole margins away from closerelation to the upper.

Objects of the present invention are to pro- 15 vide still anotherimproved method of producing close fitting shanks in shoes, and toprovide improved outsoles which are especially adapted for use in makingshoes having close fitting sole margins. I v 20 To the attainment ofthese objects the presentinvention provides an improved method of makingshoes which, in one aspect, consists'in separating an inner layer of ashoe sole from an outer layer to reduce the resistance of the sole towidth- 25 wise stretching, attaching the sole to a lasted shoe having atransversely convex bottom, and thereafter pressing the sole marginsinto close relation to the shoe upper, thereby stretching the outerlayer of the sole widthwise to offset any tendency 30 of said outerlayer subsequenty to contract and pull the sole margins away from theupper. In stretching the outer layer of the sole widthwise of the shoebottom as describeddt may be, and preferably is, stretched beyond thelimit of its 5 elastic recovery. Thus, the tensions which wouldordinarilybe set up in the shank portion of the sole, due to bending thefull thickness of the sole to the transversely convex shape of the shoebottom, will be practically eliminated. There will 40 be no tendency forthe material adjacent to the outer surface ofthe sole to contract afterthe pressure has been relieved, or for the material nearer the innersurface of the sole to expand in .-response to strains which wouldordinarily be 45 caused by forcing the sole margins into close relationto the upper of a shoe having a transversely convex bottom.Consequently, the sole margins will tend to remain permanently in closefitting relation to;.the upper afterthe leveling operationhas beenperformed. MOmQ e W re ch-t,

' ing the 'solewidthv'rise of the, shoe bottom, the

outseam stitches will be straightened to such. an extent that they will,no longenexert a' tension tending to. displacethe margins of the solefrc-m than half as thick as the sole and is as wide as the shank portionof the sole will permit, while leaving unweakened marginalareas ofsufiicient width to permit the sole to be secured to the shoev bottom.In order better to adapt the sole to be utilized in a shoe having atransversely convex bottom which is raised or ridged longitudinally ofits shank portion as, for example, in the socalled cottage roo bottom, agroove may, if

desired, be cut lengthwise of the inner layer or tongue of the sole.Such a groove will permit the shank portion of the sole to bend or flexmore easily transversely of the shoe bottom, thereby facilitating itsattachment to a shoe the shank portion of which is arched or ridgedtransversely of the shoe bottom.

Instead of cutting an inner layer or tongue in the shank portion of thesole, the present invention", regarded in another aspect, contemplateslongitudinally of the intramarginal area of the gins are pressed againstthe shoe upper, the shank weakening the shank portion of a. sole bycutting shank portion a channel or groove of sumclent depth and widthmaterially to reduce the inherent resiliency or cohesion of the sole,thereby permitting the sole to be more easily stretched widthwise when.pressure is applied to force the sole margins into close fittingrelation to the upper. As

illustrated, the groove extends from about the heel breast line to theball line and is more than half as deep as the thickness of the sole.The material cut out to form the groove may, if desired, be replaced inthe groove to prevent the formation of a depression or hollow in theshank portion of the finished shoe.

in still another; aspect the invention provides a further improvedmethod of making shoes having close fitting shanks which consists inreducing the resiliency or elasticity of a sole at the shank portion byforming therein a. series of longitudinal slits or cuts which reduce theresistance of the sole to widthwise stretching and thus permit themargins of the sole to be pressed into close fitting relation to theshoe upper. When the sole marportion of the sole will stretch widthwiseso that the margins will remain in close fitting relation to the upperafter the pressure has been relieved. Preferably, and as illustrated,the slits extend approximately from the heel breast line to the ballline and are positioned side by side across the intram'arginal portionof the sole. The slits are cut perpendicularly to the outer face of thesole for a portion of their depth and then extend laterally of the solein a plane at right angles to the perpendicular cut in order toweaken'the sole to a greater degree than a perpendicular .cut would weaken it.As illustrated, the depth of the slits is more than half the thicknessof the sole in order that the inherent resistance or resiliency of thematerial at the shank portionof .the sole will be reduced as much aspossible to 70 facilitate stretching the sole widthwise without"weakening the-remaining unsevered portion to such an "extent that itmight break apart during subsequent operations on theshoe.

In 'its article or outsoleaspect, the invention 75 provides an improvedoutsole having separated inner and outer layers in its shank portionwhereby the latter is weakened so that the outer layer will stretchwidthwise when pressure is applied to force the shank portion into closefitting relation to a shoe bottom. As herein shown, a single inner layerin the form of a tongue may extend from about the heel breast line tothe ball line in the intramarginal portion only of the sole, the tongueextending into the material of the sole a distance which is more thanhalf the thickness of the sole and occupying an area laterally of thesole which is as" wide as the intramarginal area of the shank portionwill permit without weakening the sole margins. Alternatively, aplurality of inner layers may be produced as a result of cuttingparallel slits of the type above referred to, the layers being separatedfrom each other widthwise of the sole and weakening the sole so that theouter layer will stretch widthwise when the sole margins are pressedinto close fitting relation to the shoe upper.

The above and other aspects of the invention will appear more'fuily fromthe following detailed description when read in connection with theaccompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, a

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sole blank having the margins at theshank portion reduced and having an inner layer or tongue formed.therein midway between the reduced margins from about the heel breastline to the ball line;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an outsole which has been cut from thesole blank shown in Fig. 1;

Fig; 3 is a perspective viewof the outsole inverted to show the marginalchannel which has been cut on the grain side thereof, the channel fiapbeing raised and turned back against the grain surface of the sole; 7

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of an outsole similar to theoutsole shown in Fig. 2 except that the margins are not reduced at theshank portion, and the tongue of the outsole has a longitudinal grooveformed therein;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the outsole shown in Fig. 2, thesection being taken through the shank portion to show how the sole willappear after the tongue arid channel have been cut therein and thechannel flap turned back against the surface of the sole;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a welt shoe with the outsole shownin Fig. 2 attached to the bottom thereof, the view illustrating how theshoe will appear before the leveling operation is performed;

Fig. '1 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 6 showing the welt andmargins of the outsole pressed firmly against the shoe upper by a sole.leveling roll;

In practicing the method of the present in- I vention, as hereinillustrated, a leather outsole blank ll, having an outline ll of theoutsole which is to be cut from the blank indicated on one side thereof(shown dotted in Fig. 1),

is reduced or scarred at opposite marginsof its flesh 'side throughoutareas whichcoinside substantially with the portions of 'shaped sectionsthereby leaving inclined upper surfaces at the margins of the blankwhich taper downwardly from the central or intramarginal portion to formrelatively thin edges along the shank portion of the sole. After thesole blank ID has been reduced at the shank portion as described, itsnormal resiliency or elasticity at this portion is substantiallydecreased, in order to reduceits inherent resistance to widthwisestretching, by separating an inner layer of material from an outer layerlengthwise of the shank portion of the blank to form a tongue Ill. Theout which forms the inner layer or tongue l8,

.' and which may be made by a gouging tool of any well-known type,enters the material of the sole blank on the flesh side close to theheel breast line, this position being indicated in the drawings by thereference numeral 20. The cut passes downwardly into the sole blank atsuch an angle to the plane of the upper surface thereof that the maximumdepth. of the out, which is somewhat greater than half the thickness ofthe sole, is reached when the gouging tool has passed aboutthreequarters of an inch toward the toe end of the blank. From thisposition the cut extends forwardly in a plane parallel to the upper andlower surfaces of the blank until it reaches a point locatedsubstantially at the ball line, indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 by thenumeral 22, thereby-separating the shank portion of the blank into aninner layer and an outer layer. The cutting op eration is thendiscontinued and the gouging tool is withdrawn to leave the inner layeror tongue l8 joined to the sole blank along the line 22.

The width of the inner layer or tongue I8 is approximately equal to halfthe width of the shank portion of the outline .ll of the outsole whichis indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The tongue is located centrallyof the intramarginal portion of the outsole so that the lateral edges ofthe tongue will not extend into the marginal areas through which thesole is subsequently to be stitched or otherwise permanently attached tothe bottom of a shoe. The term intramarginal portion as used herein isintended to indicate the lateral area of the outsole which extendsbetween but not into those marginal portions which are located at eachside of the outsole to receive the sole-attaching stitches or othersecuring means by which the outsole is to be subsequently attached to ashoe bottom. It will be clear that after the tongue I8 has been cut inthe inner or flesh side of the outsole as described, the material adjacent to the tongue which forms the outer layer of the outsole at theshank portion thereof, and which is indictaed at 23 in Fig. '5, ismaterially weakened so that its resistance to stretching widthwise orlaterally of the sole is considerably reduced.

The outsole blank is now out to the shape of a sole by a customary solerounding operation to produce the outsole I2 shown in Fig. 2. Asillustrated herein, the outsole I2 is adapted for use in the manufactureof Goodyear welt shoes and has a peripheral channel 24' out on its grainside, as shown in Fig. 3, to receive the sole-attaching stitches whichsecure the outsole to the welt. It is to be understood, however, thatthe illustrated method is not limited to outsoles for use in thisparticular type of shoe and, accordingly, the peripheral channel may becut differently from that disclosed herein or it may be dispensed withentirely if the sole is to be used in a type of shoe which requires nostitch-receiving channel for attaching the sole to the shoe bottom. Fig.5 is a cross-sectional view of the sole shown in Figs. 2

and 3 with the sole inverted to illustrate how the sole will appear atthe shank portion after the tongue l8 and the channel 24 have been cutand a channel flap 26 has been laid back against the outer or grainsurface of the outsole.

The outsole I2 is now ready to be permanently attached to a shoe bottomand, accordingly, it is laid on the bottom of a shoe A in which theupper materials have been pulled over and lasted as shown in Fig. 6. Theshoe illustrated in Fig. 6 is a welt shoe in which the upper materials28, in-

eluding a lining, have been pulled over a last 39 and secured in lastedrelation to the upstanding rib ofan insole 32'by a row of stitching 34constituting the inseam, this stitching passing through a welt 36 andsecuring the welt to the overlasted margin of the upper 28. Theillustrated insole 32 is reinforced at its central portion and on theinner surfaces of the upstanding ribs by fabric material such as canvas,indicated at 31, and a shank piece 38 is secured in the usual manner tothe upper face of the insole between the ribs at the shank portion ofthe shoe. The outsole I2 is first placed upon the shoe bottom with thetongue [8 in contact with the shank piece 38, as shown in Fig. 6. Theoutsole is then laid by the usual sole laying operation and is securedto the shoe bottom by outseam stitches 40 which are located at the inneredge of the channel 24 and pass though the welt 3B. As shown in Fig. 6,

the stitches are located diagonally or at an angle relatively totheupper surface of the sole margin and the under side of the welt, thisbeing the usual position of the stitches in the shank portion of a weltshoe. It will also be noted in Fig. 6

that the outer marginal surfaces of the welt and outsole are spaced aconsiderable distance from the overlasted marginal portion of the upperafter the outsole has been stitched to the welt.

The next step in the method of making shoes disclosed herein consists insubjecting the outsole l2 to a sole leveling operation in order to pressthe shank portion of the sole into conformity with the shoe bottom andto force the marginal portions'of the outsole and welt'into closefitting relation to the shoe upper. This leveling operation is performedby a leveling roll 42 which applies a downward pressure against theoutsole sufficient to cause the welt and margins of the sole to bepressed firmly against the shoe upper at the shank portion of the shoe,asshown in Fig. '7. It will be clear that in order for the margins ofthe outsole and welt to be forced from their original outwardlyextending and substantially horizontal positions as shown in Fig. 6, tothe downwardly inclined, upper embracing positions indicated in Fig. '7in such a manner that they will remain permanently in these positions,the shank portion of the outsole between these margins must be stretchedwidthwise of the sole beyond the limit of its elastic recovery or, whenthe pressure is relieved, the natural resiliency of the material of thesole will cause the latter to contract and pull the sole margins awayfrom close relation to the shoe upper. The weakening of the material atthe shank portion of the sole by cutting an inner the shoe bottom underthe pressure of the leveling roll since the remaining material or outerlayer of the sole adjacent to the tongue is now less than half thethickness of the sole at other portions thereof. By stretching the solein the manner described, the sole margins at the shank portion of theshoe are pressed into close fitting relation to the shoe upper and areheld permanently in this relation, since any tendency of the shankportion of the sole to contract .to its original width, after thepressure is relieved, has been eliminated.

Another important result of stretching the shank portion of the solelaterally or widthwise of the shoe bottom is that the outseam stiches40, which originally slant inwardly from the exposed surface of the weltto the outer face of the outsole at the shank portion of the shoe, andwhich, as stated, create a tension between the sole and'the welt whichtends to resist any attempt to close up the crease between the upper andwelt, are straightened into a position which is more nearly at rightangles to the outer surface of the outsole. After being thusstraightened the stitches will no longer exert a tension which tends topull the margins of the sole and welt awayfrom close engagement with theshoe upper.

A modification of the method ofweakening outsoles is illustrated in Fig.4, in which is shown an outsole l9 the shank portion of which is dividedinto an inner layer or tongue 2i and an outer layer located below thetongue. The tongue 2| has a slit or groove 25 cut in the central portionthereof, the slit extending lengthwise of the tongue from about the heelbreast line to the ball line of the outsole. The outsole illustrated inFig. 4 may be utilized on a shoe having what is known as a cottage roofbottom, that is, a bottom which is sharply arched transversely orwidthwise of the shoe to form a substantial ridgelongitudinally of theshank portion of the shoe. The slit 25 facilitates bending the shankportion of the outsole transversely of the shoe bottom so that theoutsole will conform more readily to the transverse convexity of theshoe bottom to produce a ridge in the shank portion thereof.

Instead of weakening an outsole by forming a tongue longitudinally ofthe shank portion, as

illustrated in Figs. 1 to 'I, inclusive, this portion may, if desired,be weakened by cutting a groove longitudinally thereof which issubstantially the same width and. depth as the tongue l8. If the sole isweakened by cutting a groove longitudinally of its shank portion, thepiece removed from the groove should be replaced before the sole isapplied to the shoe bottom, thus preventing the formation of a hollow ordepression in the sole of the finished shoe. After the piece has beenpositioned loosely in the groove and the sole has been laid on atransversely convex shoe bottom with the grooved side adjacent to theinso1e,

the sole is attached to the shoe bottom by stitching it to the welt inthe usual manner and the sole leveling operation is then performed topress the sole into close engagement with the shoe bottom and to forcethe margins of the sole into close fitting relation to the shoe upper.Since the shank portion of the sole has been materially weakened by theformation of a groove which extends longitudinally thereof from aboutthe breast line to the ball line, this portion will now be able tostretch or expand widthwise of the transversely convex shoe bottom tomaintain the margins of the sole permanently in close fitting relationto the shoe upper.

In both methods of weakening the outsole described above, the tongue orthe groove, as the case may be, should be made as deep as the body ofthe sole at the shank portion will permit, while leaving the outer layerof the sole, adjacent to the tongue or groove, strong enough to preventits separating or breaking apart during subsequent operations on theshoe, for example, during the sole leveling operation. As illustrated inthe drawings, the tongue or groove may in some cases (depending upon thequality of leather in the outsole) be nearly two-thirds the thickness ofthe sole, since the thinner the material of the outer layer can be madewithout weakening it too much, the more easily the sole can be stretchedand the more the inherent resiliency of the sole will be reduced. Thetongue or groove should also be aswide as possible in order that theresiliency of the sole at the shank portion may be reduced sufiicientlyto permit the desired results to be obtained. Since the stitches whichunite the outsole to the welt are positioned at the inner edge of themarginal channel at the shank portion of the shoe, and since thesestitches should pass through wn unweakened portion of the sole, thelateral edges of the tongue or groove must be located inwardly of theoutseam stitches or, in other words, at the intramarginal portion of theoutsole.

A further modification of the method of weakening the sole, which may beused in place of cutting either a tongue or a groove therein, isillustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings. As illustrated, thismodification consists in cutting a series of slits 44 (herein shown asfive) in the shank portion of a sole blank 46, these slits extendingside by side longitudinally of the sole from about the heel breast lineto the ball line. The slits 44 are made in the flesh side of the sole byusing a' knife which has a turned-out bottom portion arranged to producea right-angle cut in the material of the sole, as shown in Fig. 9. Inmaking these slits the knife'enters the sole blank at'such an angle tothe plane of the flesh surface thereof that after it-has passedforwardly for about three-quarters of an inch the knife reaches itsmaximum depth (which is somewhat greater than half the thickness of thesole) and then moves forwardly toward the toe end of the sole blank in aplane substantially parallel to the surface of the blank. The knife iswithdrawn gradually from the material of the sole blank at a point whichcoincides substantially with the ball line thereof, thereby forming alongitudinal slit in the shank portion of the sole which extends fromabout the heel breast line to the ball line. As shown in Fig. 8, theslits 44 are spaced equidistantly apart across a substantial portion ofthe width of the blank, the outer slits, which are adjacent to themargins on each side of the blank being, spaced somewhat inwardly of thepositions which the sole-attaching stitches will occupy. After the slitshave been made in the shank portion of the sole blank 46, the operationof cutting a sole from the blank 46 is carried out on a sole roundingmachine in the manner previously indicated.

The shank portion of a sole having a plurality of slits formedlongitudinally thereof is thus rendered capable of stretching widthwiseof the sole under the pressure applied by the sole leveling roll, sincethe lateral extensibility of the shank portion of the sole has now beenmaterially increased and its resiliency proportionately decreased. Whenthe leveling operation. is performed to press the sole against thetransversely convex bottom of the shoe, the shank portion of the solewill stretch or expand widthwise of the shoe and by so doing will tendto hold the margins of the sole permanently in close fitting relation tothe shoe upper.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of making shoes having close fitting solemargins which consists in separating a sole into an inner layer and anouter layer in a plane substantially parallel to the outer surface ofthe sole, thereby reducing theresistance of the sole to widthwisestretching without reducing the thickness 'of the sole, attaching thesole to a lasted shoe having a transversely' convex bottom, and pressingthe sole margins into close relation to the shoe upper, therebystretching said outer layer widthwise to offset any tendency of the solemargins subsequently to pull away from the upper.

2. That improvement in methods of makin shoes having close fitting solemargins which consists in separating an inner layer of a sole from anouter layer at the intramarginal portion only of the sole, therebyreducing the resistance of said portion to widthwise stretching,attaching the sole to a lasted shoe having a transversely convex bottom,and pressing the sole margins into close relation to the shoe upper,therebystretching said outer layer widthwise to offset any tendency ofthe sole margins subsequently to pull away from the upper.

3. That improvement in methods of making shoes having close fitting solemargins which consists in separating a sole into an inner layer and anouter layer between the margins of the shank portion of the sole,thereby reducing the resistance of 'saidshank portion to widthwisestretching, attaching the sole to a lasted shoe having a transverselyconvex bottom, and pressing the sole margins into close relation to theshoe upper, thereby stretching said outer layer widthwise to, overcomeany tendency of the sole margins subsequently to pull away from the shoeupper.

4,-That improvement in methods of making welt shoes having close fittingsole margins which consists in separating an inner layer of a sole froman outer layer, said inner layer being joined to the sole only in thevicinity of the ball line, thereby reducing the resistance of the soleto widthwise stretching, attaching the sole to a shoe on a last having atransversely convex bottom, and pressing the sole margins into closerelation to the shoe upper, thereby stretching said outer layer beyondits limit of elastic recovery to offset any tendency of said marginssubsequently to pull away from the shoe upper.

5. That improvement in methods of making welt shoes which consists inseparating an inner layer from an outer layer in the intramarginal shankportion of an outsole, thereby reducing the resistance of said shankportion to widthwise stretching, laying the sole on the bottom of alasted shoe having an attached welt and a trans,- versely convex shankportion, applying leveling pressure to the sole, thereby pressing thewelt into close relation to the upper, and stretching said outer layerof the outsole to offset any tendency of the sole to react to pull thewelt away from the upper in the shank portion of the shoe.v

6. That improvement in methods of making shoes having close fittingshanks whichconsists in weakening a sole by separating a strip ofmaportion of the sole, thereby increasing the lateral extensibility ofsaid portion, securing the sole to a lasted shoe having a transverselyconvex bottom, applying leveling pressure to the shank portion of thesole thereby causing the margins thereof'to conform to the shape of theshoe bottom, and stretching the shank portion of the sole laterally ofthe shoe bottom so that the sole margins will remain in close relationto the shoe upper after the pressure has been relieved.

7. That improvement in methods of making welt shoes having close fittingshanks which consists in cutting a tongue from the flesh side of aleather sole at the shank portion only, thereby weakening said portion,said tongue extending longitudinally of the sole and being spaced equaldistances from the edges thereof, laying the, sole ona transverselyconvex shoe bottom and securing it thereto by stitches, and performing aleveling operation on the shank portion of the sole, thereby forcing thesole margins into close fitting relation to the shoe upper andstretching the shank portion of the sole laterally of the shoe bottom sothat the sole margins will have less tendency to pull away from theupper after the leveling operation has been performed.

8. That improvement in methods of making shoes having close fitting.sh-anks which consists in cutting a tongue longitudinally of the shankportion of a leather sole midway between the edges thereof, said tongueextending substantially from the heel breast line to the ball line onthe flesh side of the sole and being joined to the sole at the ballline, attaching the sole to a shoe having a transversely convex bottom,and pressing the shank portion of the sole into close engagement withsaid shoe bottom, thereby bringing the sole margins into close fittingrelation to the upper and-extending. the shank portion of the solelaterally of the shoe bottom to assist in holding the margins of thesole against'the upper.

9. That improvement in methods of making shoes having close fittingshanks which consists in removing a piece of material from between thelateral margins in the shank portion of a sole to weaken said shankportion and to facilitate stretching it widthwise, attaching the sole toa transversely convex shoe bottom, and pressing the shank portion of thesole forcibly against said shoe bottom, thereby forcing the marginalportions of the sole into close relation to the shoe upper andstretching the weakened portion of the sole laterally of the shoe bottomto maintain permanently the close relation between the sole margins andthe upper.

10. That improvement in methods of making welt shoes having closefitting shanks which consists in weakening a sole by severing a strip ofmaterial from the shank portion thereof to form a groove which extendssubstantially from the heel breast line to the ball line of the sole,said groove being more than half as deep as the thickness of the soleand about half as wide as the shank portion thereof, placing the severedstrip back in the groove, laying the sole and attaching it by stitchesto a shoe having a transversely convex bottom, and applying levelingpressure to the shank portion of the sole to conform it to the shape ofthe shoe bottom and to force the margins of the sole into close fittingrelation to the shoe upper, said pressure expanding the grooved portionof the sole widthwise of the shoe bottom so that the sole margins willremain in close fit ting relation to the upper after the pressure hasbeen relieved.

11. That improvement in methods of making shoes having close fittingsole margins which consistsin separating an inner layer of a sole froman outer layer in the shank portion of the sole, thereby reducing theresistance of the sole to widthwise stretching, cutting a groovelengthwise of the sole in the inner layer to facilitate bending the solewidthwise, attaching the sole to a shoe the bottom of which has a ridgeextending longitudinally of its shank portion, and pressing the shankportion of the sole into close engagement with said shoe bottom, therebybending the sole widthwise to form a ridge longitudinally of theouter'layer and bringing the margins of the sole into close fittingrelation to the upper at each side of the shoe, said pressure alsostretch ing the outer layerwidthwise to eliminate any tendency of thesole margins subsequently to pull away from said upper.

12. That improvement in methods of making shoes having close fittingshanks which consists in increasing the lateral extensibility of theshank portion of a leather sole by forming a tongue in said portion onthe flesh side of the sole, said tongue being more than half as thick asthe sole and terminating substantially at the ball line, cutting agroove lengthwise of said tongue to render the shank portion of the solemore flexible widthwise, attaching the sole to a shoe the bottom ofwhich is transversely convex, and leveling the shank portion of the soleinto close engagement with the shoe bottom, said leveling operationbending the sole widthwise over the convex shoe bottom and bringing themargins of the sole at the shank portion into close fitting relation tothe shoe upper, thereby causing that portion of the sole adjacent to thetongue to expand widthwise to maintain said sole margins permanently inclose fitting relation to the shoe upper.

13. That improvement in methods of making shoes having close fittingshanks which consists in cutting a tongue of substantial widthlongitudinally of a leather sole in the flesh side from about the heelbreast line to the ball line, thereby increasing the lateralextensibility of the shank portion of the sole, said tongue being morethan half as thick as the sole and being joined to the sole at the ballline, cutting a longitudinal groove in the central portion of saidtongue to increase the flexibility of the sole widthwise, attaching thesole flesh side down to a shoe on a last having a transversely convexbottom, and applying pressure to the shank portion ofthe sole to bend itto the transverse curvature of the shoe bottom and to force the marginsof the sole into close fitting relation to the shoe upper, said pressurealso-extending the portion of the sole which is adjacent'to the tonguewidthwise of the shoe bottom so that said portion will have no tendencythereafter to contract and pull the margins of the sole away from closefitting relation to the shoe upper.

14. That improvement in methods of making shoes having close fittingshanks which consists in weakening an outsole by cuttiing a tongue ofsubstantial width in the intramarginal portion thereof, said tongueextending lengthwise of the -sole' from about the heel breast line tothe ball line and being more than half as thick as the outsole, layingthe outsole on a shoe the bottom of which is transversely convexattaching the sole by stitches to said convex shoe bottom, and applyingleveling pressure to the outer face of the outsole to force it againstthe shoe bottom, thereby causing the margins of the outsole to bepressed into close fitting relation to the shoe upper, said pressureacting to stretch the intramarginal portion of the outsole above thetongue widthwise of the shoe bottom so that the margins of the sole willremain permanently in close fitting relation to the upper at the shankportion of the shoe.

15. That improvement in methods of making shoes having close fittingshanks which consists in reducing the margins of an outsole at the shankportion, cutting a tongue lengthwise of the outsole at said shankportion, said tongue extending midway between the reduced margins toincrease the extensibility of the outsole widthwise. attaching theoutsole to a shoe having a convex bottom, and pressing the shank portionof the outsole into close engagement with the shoe bottom, therebybringing the reduced margins of the outsole into close fitting relationto the shoe upper, said pressing operation acting also to extend thecentralportion of the outsole adjacent to said tongue widthwise of theconvex shoe bottom so that said portion will not subsequently contractto pull the sole margins away from the upper.

. 16. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists inreducing the resiliency of a sole by slitting the shank portion of thesole lengthwise to form an innerlayer and an outer layer, therebyreducing the resistance of the sole to widthwise stretching withoutreducing the original thickness of the sole, attaching the sole to alasted shoe having a transversely convex bottom, and pressing the soleinto close relation to the shoe bottom, said pressure forcing themargins at the shank portion of the sole into close fitting relation tothe upper and also stretching the slitted portion of the sole widthwiseso that said margins will tend to remain permanently in close fittingrelation to the upper.

17. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists inincreasing the lateral extensibility of a sole at the shank portion onlyby cutting a plurality of slits longitudinally of said portion, saidslits extending from about the heel breast line to the ball line andbeing more than half as deep as the thickness of the sole, securing thesole to a shoe having a transversely convex bottom, and pressing theshank portion of the sole into close relation to said shoe bottom bypressure applied to the upper surface of the sole, said pressure actingto stretch the shank portion of the sole laterally of the shoe, therebypermitting the sole margins to remain permanently in close relation tothe shoe bottom.

18. That improvement in methods of making shoes having close fittingshanks which consists in weakening a leather outsole at the shankportion by forming a series of slits in the flesh side thereof, saidslits being located side by side across the width of the sole andextending lengthwise of the sole from about the heel breast line to theball line, thereby reducing the resistance of the shank portion of thesole to widthwise stretching, attaching the sole to a shoe on a lasthaving a transversely convex bottom, and forcing the shank portion ofthe sole into close relation'to the shoe bottom, thereby bringing thesole margins into close fitting relation to the shoe upper andstretching the shank portion of the sole widthwise so that there willbe-no tendency thereafter for the sole to contract and pull the marginsaway from the upper.

19. That improvement in methods of making shoes having close fittingshanks which consists in reducing the elasticity of a sole at the shankportion to facilitate widthwise stretching-by cutting a plurality ofgrooves longitudinally of the sole from the heel breast linesubstantially to the ball line, said grooves being spaced equidistantlyfrom each other widthwise of the sole across the greater portion of thewidth thereof, attaching the sole to a shoe having a transversely convexbottom, and leveling the shank portion of the sole against the shoebottom, said leveling operation acting to force the margins of the soleinto close fitting relation to the upper at the shank portion of theshoe and acting also to stretch the sole widthwise so that the marginswill remain in said relation to the upper.

20. That improvement in methods of making shoes having close fittingshanks which consists in cutting a plurality of slits in the shankportion of asole to permit the sole to stretch more easily widthwise,said slits extending vertically into the sole for a distance which issomewhat greater than half the thickness of the sole and then extendinghorizontally to form a series of right angle cuts spaced equidistantlyfrom each other, attaching the sole to a shoe having a transverselyconvex bottom, and applying leveling pressure to the shank portion ofthe sole to press said portion against the shoe bottom and to force thesole margins into close fitting relation to the shoe upper, saidpressure acting also to stretch the shank portion of the sole laterallyof the shoe bottom and thereby cause said margins to be maintained inclose fitting relation to the upper after the leveling pressure has beenrelieved.

21. That improvement in methods of making shoes having close fittingshanks which consists in reducing the resistance of the shank portion ofa sole by cutting a plurality of right-angle slits longitudinally of thesole from about the heel breast line to the ball line, said slitsextending through more than half the thickness of the sole and beingspaced equidistantly from each other laterally of the sole, placing thesole on a transversely convex shoe bottom and securing it thereto bystitches, and leveling the shank portion of the sole by pressure applieddownwardly against the outer face thereof, thereby bringing the marginalportions of the sole into close fitting relation to the shoe upper, saidleveling pressure acting also to stretch the slitted portion of the solewidthwise of the shoe bottom to prevent said portion from returning toits'original width after the pressure is relieved, thus eliminating anytendency of said portion to contract and pull the margins of the soleaway from close fitting relation to the shoe upper.

22. That improvement in.methods of making 1 outsoles for use in themanufacture of shoes which consists in'separating an inner layer of anoutsole from an outer layer from about the heel breast line to the ballline of the outsole, thereby reducing the resistance of the outsole towidthwise stretching, said inner layer being separated in a planesubstantially parallel to the outer face of the outsole and beingthicker than said outer layer.

23. That improvement in methods of making outsoles for use in themanufacture of shoes which consists in cutting a relatively wide tonguelongitudinally of the shank portion of an outsole, thereby reducing theresistance of saidportion to widthwise stretching, said tongue beinglocated at the intramarginal portion of the outsole and being joined tothe outsole substantially at the ball line.

24. That improvement in methods of making consists in cutting aplurality of slits longitudinally of the intramarginal portion of anoutsole while leaving a marginal portion of substantial width at eachside of the slitted portion of the outsole in its normal condition,thereby reducing the resistance of said intramarginal portion towidthwise stretching but maintaining the original resistance of saidmarginal portions.

25. That improvement in methods of making outsoles for use in themanufacture of shoes 10 which consists in weakening the shank portion ofan outsole to facilitate widthwise stretching by cutting a plurality ofslits side by side across the intramarginal area of said shank portion,said slits extending perpendicularly into the ma- 1:, terial of the solefor more than half its thickness and then extending laterally of theoutsole in a plane at right, angles to the perpendicular slits.

26. A'sole for use in the manufacture of shoes having a relatively widetongue formed longitu- 2f) dinally of the sole between the margins ofits shank portion, said tongue starting at the heel breast line andjoining the body of the sole at the ball line so that the material insaid shank portion adjacent to the tongue will stretch width- :3 Wise ofa transversely convex shoe bottom without any substantial stretching ofthe sole margins at said portion when leveling pressure is applied toforce said margins into close fitting relation to the shoe upper. :12)

27. A sole for use in the manufacture of shoes having a single tongueout from about the heel breast line to the ball line to facilitatestretching the sole widthwise of its shank portion, the thickness of thematerial at the forepart and heel 1;.) portion of the sole remainingunchanged.

28. An outsole for use in the manufacture of shoes having a relativelywide tongue formed between the margins of itsinner face so that thematerial of the sole adjacent to the tongue will 40 stretch more easilywidthwise, said tongue extending from about the heel breast line to theball line and being joined to the outsole at the ball line, the forepartand heel portion of the sole and the margins of the shank portionremaining in their original condition.

29. An outsole for use in the manufacture of welt shoes having a singletongue out longitudinally of the intramarginal portion of its inner facefrom about the heel breast line to the ball line so that the layer ofmaterial adjacent to the tongue at the shank portion of the outsole maybe more easily stretched laterally of the sole by leveling pressureapplied to press the sole margins into close fitting relation to theupper of a shoe having a transversely convex bottom, said tongue beingmore than half the thickness of the outsole and being joined theretosubstantially at the ball line the sole margins at said shank portionremaining in their originalunweakened condition.

, 30. A-shoe sole having an incision extending substantially throughoutthe length of its shank portion on the inner face of the sole tofacilitate widthwise stretching, said incision being about 6 half aswide as, the shank portion of the sole and being more than half as deepas the thickness of the sole.

31. A shoe sole having a relatively wide tongue formed lengthwise of itsshank portion to facili- 7 tate stretching the portion adjacent to saidtongue widthwise and having a groove cut longitudinally of the tongue tofacilitate bending the adjacent portion transversely of said shankportion.

32. A sole for use in the manufacture of shoes having a plurality ofnon-parallel slits formed in its shank portion to weaken said portionand permit it to be stretched more easily widthwise, all of said slitsextending from about the heel breast line to the ball line and beinglocated in the intra-margin'al portion of the sole to leave a marginalportion of substantial width at each side of the sole in its normalcondition, said slits being somewhat deeper than half the thickness ofthe sole.

33. A leather sole for use in the manufacture of shoes having aplurality of incisions cut lengthwise of its shank portion on the fleshside to increase the lateral extensibility of said shank portion, saidincisions being cut perpendicularly to the outer face of the sole and attheir maximum depth extending laterally of the sole in a plane parallelto said outer face.

34. A leather sole for use in the manufacture of shoes, said sole havinga plurality of angular slits formed in the shank portion of its fleshside to weaken the resistance of said portion against twidthwisestretching, said slits being spaced equidistantly from each other acrossthe intramarginal portion of the sole and extending more than halfwayinto the sole.

35. A shoe comprising an upper and an outsole the lateral margins ofwhich lie close to the upper, the outsole having separated inner andouter layers in its shank portion only of which the outer layer has beenstretched widthwise of the sole to eliminate any tendency of the solemargins to pull away from said upper, the inner layerremaining insubstantially its original unstretched condition.

36. A shoe comprising an upper and an outsole the lateral margins ofwhich lie close to the upper in the shank portion of the shoe, theoutsole having separated inner and outer layers in its intramarginalportion of which the outer layer only has been expanded widthwise of thesole beyond-its limit of elastic recovery to eliminate any tendency ofthe sole margins to pull away from close fitting relation to the shoeupper.

3'7. A shoe having an upper, a welt, an insole and an outsole, the weltbeing secured to the upper and insole and having its upper surface lyingclose to the shoe upper, the outsole being secured to the welt andhaving a tongue of less thickness than the sole separated from its innerintramarginal shank portion, the side edges of the tongue being spacedfrom the adjacent surfaces of the sole and the outer intramarginalportion of the sole being permanently extended laterally to cause thewelt to remain permanently in close relation to the upper.

38. A shoe comprising an upper and insole, a welt secured to said upperand insole, and an outsole stitched to said welt, the welt and marginalportions of the outsole being positioned in close relation to the upperat the shank portion of the shoe, said outsole having a tongue ofsubstantial thickness formed on the inner side of its shank portionmidway between the margins thereof, the lateral edges of said tonguebeing spaced from the adjoining surfaces of the outsole, and the outermaterial of the outsole adjacent to said tongue being permanentlystretched widthwise to maintain the welt and marginal portions of theoutsole in close fitting relation to the shoe upper.

J OHN B. HADAWAY.

